As you have figured out, I am a Star Trek fan. The first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy just aired its finale and I wanted more Star Trek content. Star Trek: Lower Decks is an animated series but it’s aimed at true hardcore Star Trek fans. Plenty of Easter Eggs and inside jokes. I delayed watching this series because I thought it might be targeting much younger audiences, but I was wrong. The series has the Star Trek vibe and even some snarky humor. I certainly should have embraced this sooner! GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B+

I’ve read a couple dozen books by Loren D. Estleman–both mysteries and Westerns–and enjoyed them all. Steve Lewis’s blog post about a down on his luck private eye, Ralph Poteet (you can read Steve’s post here), triggered my searching for Estleman’s Peeper and the two anthologies with Ralph Poteet stories in my cavernous basement.

Peeper is a 1989 loopy detective novel, featuring an overweight Detroit PI named Ralph Poteet who has a drinking problem (among other personal problems). When the hooker in the apartment above his calls Ralph in the middle of the night and offers him a $100 to help her, Ralph reluctantly agrees (since he’s broke).

Ralph finds a monsignor dead in the hooker’s bed. That leads to Ralph getting entangled in a conspiracy involving church corruption, Vatican politics, and murder. The hooker gets caught in an explosion as someone bombs her apartment. She survives, but is gravely injured.

Estleman uses Peeper to satirize the detective genre as the reader follows Ralph as he gets sucked into blackmail attempts and assassination attempts which leads to a conspiracy that reaches both Washington D.C. and the Vatican. 

Ralph Poteet shows up in short story form in two anthologies. The first is An Eye For Justice: The Third Private Eye Writers of America Anthology Edited by Robert J. Randisi (1988)–you can read my review here). “State of Grace” is basically the first couple chapters of Peeper.

The final Ralph Poteet story shows up in Flesh & Blood: Guilty As Sin Edited by Max Allan Collins and Jeff Gelb (2003). “A Hatful of Ralph,” where Ralph Poteet, as a result of his many problems, is reduced to playing Santa in a department store where he’s supposed to find out who is stealing plenty of items. Of course, on top of the thefts, there’s a murder to spice things up.

If you’re in the mood for some sardonic private eye stories with a noirish twist–a change of pace from traditional P.I fiction–I recommend Loren D. Estleman’s Ralph Poteet series. GRADE: B

Some rock critics describe Early Rock ‘n Roll as Pre-Beatles and Post-Beatles. But, back in 1963, the British Invasion started with a number of groups that dominated the radio airwaves. Gerry & The Pacemakers, Freddie & The Dreamers, Peter & Gordon, Chad & Jeremy, The Seekers and many more groups rode on the coat-tails of The Beatles to success in America.

I’m especially fond of The Spencer Davis Group. When I hear “Gimme Some Lovin'” I just have to get up and dance!

Sadly, this compilation CD doesn’t include my favorite British Group, The Rolling Stones. No Who either. But listening to this CD took me back to the Sixties and the new music from overseas. Are you a fan of the British Invasion? Do you have a favorite singer or group? GRADE: B+

TRACKLIST:

My favorite story in An Eye For Justice (1988) is “Black in the Snow”–a Dan Fortune mystery–by “Michael Collins” (aka, Dennis Lyons, John Crowe, Mark Sadler, William Arden). A woman and her dog are found dead and Dan Fortune is hired to investigate. I’ve read several Dan Fortune novels and this excellent short story is just as good.

I also enjoyed Arthur Lyons’ “Dead Copy” featuring Jacob Asch who investigates the death of a friend when the widow insists his friend was murdered. Bill Pronzini’s “Incident in a Neighborhood Bar” puts the “Nameless” private eye in danger as the Bar is held up by a gun-toting young man.

There are plenty of “Name” mystery writers in this anthology and the quality level is high. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• 1 · Introduction · Richard S. Prather · in
• 7 · Candala [Dr. Robert Frederickson (Mongo)] · George C. Chesbro · ss
• 25 · Marble Mildred [Nate Heller] · Max Allan Collins · nv
• 53 · Black in the Snow [Dan Fortune] · Michael Collins · ss
• 67 · The Judas Target [Joe Hannibal] · Wayne D. Dundee · nv
• 89 · State of Grace [Ralph Poteet] · Loren D. Estleman · ss
• 99 · Non Sung Smoke [Kinsey Millhone] · Sue Grafton · ss
• 115 · Left for Dead [Ben Perkins] · Rob Kantner · ss
• 133 · DDS10752 Libra · John Lutz & Josh Pachter · ss
• 143 · Dead Copy · Arthur Lyons · ss
• 157 · Incident in a Neighborhood Tavern [Nameless Private Eye] · Bill Pronzini · ss
• 165 · The Vanishing Virgin [Nick Delvecchio] · Robert J. Randisi · ss
• 183 · The Safest Place in the World [Cody] · James M. Reasoner · nv
• 205 · Hollywood Guns [Lucas Hallam] · L. J. Washburn · ss

Just a heads-up to fans of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta, the forensic pathologist. AMAZON PRIME Video will be dropping the first episode of this series on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. Nicole Kidman will star as Scarpetta in this 8 episode series. A second season has already been given the Green Light. Are you a fan of Kay Scarpetta?

“Everything about online sports betting seems like a recipe for getting people to overdo it: the mere seconds it takes to deposit money from a bank, PayPal, or Venmo account, or even a credit card in some states; the vast menu of games and props available for betting at all hours; the incessant ads; the daily emails becoming customers with promotions whenever they take a break from gambling.” (p. 239)

“An estimated $1.76 billion was legally wagered on Super Bowl LX in 2026, setting a new record for the event according to the American Gaming Association. This amount represents a significant increase over the $1.25 billion bet in 2024, driven by legal betting availability in 38 states plus Washington D.C.”

With March Madness just around the corner, more people–especially young men–will be betting on college basketball games. Billions of dollars will be wagered. If you have a cell phone, you have a casino in your pocket.

Danny Funt shows how the betting boom at FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and other gambling sites depends on the troubling methods that are being used to bleed gamblers dry. Everybody Loses (2026) is the first major investigation into America’s sports gambling industry. Funt quotes sportsbook executives who admit to misleading customers, with one admitting they’re “selling that you can win, but you can’t.”

The U.S. Supreme Court approved legalized sports gambling nationwide on May 14, 2018, by ruling in Murphy v. NCAA that the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional. This 6-3 decision struck down the federal ban, allowing individual states to legalize and regulate sports betting. This unleashed a torrent of states approving legalized sports gambling…for the tax revenue it would produce. My state, New York, as of late 2025 data, has generated over $1 billion in tax revenue from online sports betting, continuing its position as a national leader in gambling tax collections. 

Everybody Loses explains why sports gambling is suddenly everywhere–and why the odds are so great that the problems it’s creating will soon spiral out of control with gambling addiction, cheating, and increased bankruptcies. Many people’s lives will be devastated by legalized gambling. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction — 1

1. Original sin — 11

2. A silver bullet — 37

3. Let the games begin — 69

4. The media go all in — 97

5. Winners not welcome — 123

6. Very important people — 157

7. Confidence game — 181

8. The action never stops — 199

9. Foul play — 215

10. We have a problem — 239

11. The house doesn’t always win — 271

12. Gambling on the future — 271

Acknowledgements — 295

Index — 297

We could all use more Joy and Fulfillment. Daniel Coyle, a guy I would term a “Happiness Consultant,” claims his methods will produce better lives for those who follow them.

Using Real World examples, Coyle illustrates his process to building meaning. Here are my favorite true stories from Flourish (2026):

• The 33 trapped miners in Chile and their survival through collective leadership.
• A small town in Vermont that produced 11 Olympians over 40 years.
• Zingerman’s Deli in Michigan, which grew into a $70 million “family-like” business.
• A grassroots organization in a Kenyan settlement that successfully guides students to the Ivy League

If you’d like a quick read that shows how to make your Life better, this is it! GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

PROLOGUE — xi

PART 1. MAKING MEANING: HOW TO CONNECT DEEPLY

1. The Singers –3
2. How Awakening Cues Work — 25
3. The Meaning Builders — 49
4. The Recipe: A Business Story — 71
5. Music Lessons: A Love Story — 83

PART 2. BUILDING COMMUNITY: HOW TO THRIVE TOGETHER

6. All at Once: The Power of Group Flow — 101

7. The Rule of the Beautiful Mess — 109

8. The Rule of Surprise — 127

9. Tilting the River: A Leadership Story –147

10. Montessori Ball: A Teamwork Story — 155

Epilogue: Yellow Doors — 173

Acknowledgements — 179

Index — 181

I watched 2 of the 8 episodes of Young Sherlock on Amazon Prime Video that started on 4 March 2026. The series is an adaptation of Andrew Lane‘s Young Sherlock Holmes book series, itself a pastiche of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes stories. Guy Ritchie directed the series, and Hero Fiennes Tiffin stars as 19-year-old Sherlock Holmes.

“As a 19-year-old at Oxford University, Sherlock Holmes is not yet the master detective he grows up to be. He is raw and unfiltered, and he lacks discipline. A murder at Oxford puts Holmes’s freedom at risk, and he sets out to solve his first murder mystery that leads him to a global-level conspiracy.”

I like the cast of Young Sherlock: Hero Fiennes Tiffin as Sherlock Holmes

Dónal Finn as James Moriarty, Sherlock’s new friend and future enemy

Zine Tseng as Princess Gulun Shou’an / Xiao Wei, a young Chinese princess, scholar and martial artist with plenty of secrets

Joseph Fiennes as Silas Holmes, Sherlock and Mycroft’s adventurous father

Natascha McElhone as Cordelia Holmes, Sherlock and Mycroft’s artistic mother who suffers grief from the death of her daughter

Max Irons as Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother who tries to keep Sherlock out of prison

Colin Firth as Sir Bucephalus Hodge, an wealth industrialist who has some dastardly plans

I can’t wait to watch all 8 episodes! Purists might object to some of the liberties Guy Ritchie takes with young Sherlock, but I’m entertained! GRADE: Incomplete, but trending towards a B+

Captain Future: Man of Tomorrow was a pulp magazine published from 1940 to 1944. The character was created by editors Mort Weisinger and Leo Margulies. The majority of the stories were authored by Edmond Hamilton. Popular Library published a series of paperbacks featuring Captain Future by “Brett Sterling” (aka, Edmond Hamilton). More Captain Future stories were published by Startling Stories after World War II.

“The series begins when genius scientist Roger Newton, his wife Elaine, and his fellow scientist Simon Wright leave planet Earth to do research in an secret laboratory on the Moon, and to escape the predations of Victor Corvo (originally: Victor Kaslan), a criminal politician who wished to use Newton’s inventions for his own gain. Simon’s body is old and diseased and Roger enables him to continue doing research by transplanting his healthy brain into an artificial case (originally immobile—carried around by Grag—later equipped with lifter units). Working together, the two scientists create an intelligent robot called Grag, and an android with shape-shifting abilities called Otho. One day, Corvo arrives on the Moon and murders the Newtons. The killers are in turn slain by Grag and Otho but Corvo escapes.” — Wikipedia

I bought Allen Steele’s homage to Captain Future–Avengers of the Moon— when it was first published in 2014. I finally got around to reading it. Steele went back and read all the Captain Future stories and his Captain Future novel picks up the story of Roger and Elaine’s son, Curtis Newton (soon to be Captain Future). Curtis Newton is raised by the unlikely trio of Otho, Grag, and Simon Wright. Under their tutelage, Curtis grows up to be a brilliant scientist and very athletic.

Curtis also grows up with a strong sense of responsibility and hopes to use his scientific skills to help people. With that goal in his mind, Curtis calls himself Captain Future. Simon, Otho and Grag are referred to as the Futuremen in subsequent stories. When Curtis finds out that Victor Corvo killed his parents, he seeks revenge!

Other recurring characters in the series are the old space marshal Ezra Gurney, the beautiful Planet Patrol agent Joan Randall (who provides a love interest for Curtis), and James Carthew, President of the Solar System whose office is in New York City and who calls upon Captain Future in extreme need.

If you’re in the mood for nostalgia and High Adventure, you might want to give Captain Future a try. GRADE: B+ (for both books)

Last week I reviewed Singers & Songwriters: 1973-1975 (you can read my review here). Singers & Songwriters: 1976-1977 (2010) is another volume in this TIME-LIFE series. And, once again, it’s a mixed bag.

I’ve always liked Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now” and Hall & Oates’ “Sara Smile.” Who can resist Elton John and Kiki Dee’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” “Get Closer” is my favorite Seals & Crofts song. Our local Oldies radio station. plays “Year of the Cat” by Al Stewart regularly.

Of the two Linda Ronstadt songs in this set, I prefer “Tracks of My Tears”–the Smokey Robinson classic. I’m fond of Dave Mason’s “We Just Disagree” and Jennifer Warnes’ “Right Time of the Night.”

Do you remember these Seventies songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+

TRACKLIST: